Ask J.T.: Literal shelf life

In response to a question posed by “Cap”:

Hey J.T.! I remember you saying smwh that you’ve amassed a collection of Putin bios. But what are you gonna do with them once he dies/leaves office? You wouldn’t be able to sell them for much, methinks…

Good question. Given present-day Putin Derangement Syndrome and the sheer number of biographies already on the market, I don’t expect to sell mine when the time comes. Using books for kindling during the winter is also out of the question, as that’s a taboo I would never break (except if the book happens to be Winter is Coming)…

Why should the shelf life of a biography end when its subject passes into history? We’re still writing biographies about Lincoln 150+ years after his death! The Putin biographies written today will still serve as reference material after he leaves the political scene – for students, scholars, newer biographers looking to expand the body of work, laymen curious about the Putin era, even fiction writers.

I own ten Putin biographies because I find both the man and the political animal fascinating. Provided my fascination isn’t momentary, like a flash of lightning (and there’s evidence it isn’t – it persists even after four years), I’ll likely keep reading them. If anything, for the information within. I’m a scholar at heart – I don’t stop learning until I’m learned.

Just received a telegram from the Inner Writer: It seems idea N-GN-5 (satire; political; magic realism; lit fic; novel/graphic novel) is still on the table, and those ten bios make for good inspiration. If any attribute of mine ends up getting me killed, it won’t be my curiosity; it’ll be my irreverence.